Hide and Seek
by Marie Dantes
Summary: Jack knows much more than anyone would guess when it comes to the lives of the Turner Family, but will that knowledge be dangerous? JackOC
1. A Villainous Man

Chapter 1  
  
"Julieanne, I cannot believe we are picking up your wedding dress from the seamstress already. My darling daughter, look at how you've grown up right before my eyes," the Governor James Andrews said, smiling nostalgically.  
  
"Oh, Daddy, don't be sad," Julieanne took her father's hand from across the carriage, "for you still have Emma to keep you and mother company."  
  
"Of course, but that's only for a short time," he said looking mischievously at his niece sitting opposite him, beside Julieanne. "I wouldn't doubt Emma's betrothal within a fortnight, you mark my words!"  
  
Julieanne laughed as Emma gasped. "Uncle! Do not even imply such a thing! So far as I know, I shall not marry, for indeed I find no interest in suitors."  
  
The governor was the one who gasped now. Emma continued, "I plan to stay your sweet niece for a very long time. I don't want things to change. I want to stay the same. I don't know why everyone wants to grow up, get married; I'm happy as I am. No man I have met has tempted me into the state of mind to fall in love with him. When I do fall in love, the man must fascinate me and occupy my every thought; and he must think of others, and not only himself. He needs to be charming, handsome, adventurous, and...I don't know...villainous!"  
  
"Villainous, Emma?" the governor cried.  
  
Emma laughed, "Yes, villainous...or a man that could be villainous and wouldn't. Now you know why I shall never marry, Uncle, for there is no man in this entire colony who could fulfill all of my requirements. Oh, and above all, he must make me laugh, and all the young men in this colony are far too serious, besides my dear cousin-to-be; but alas, he could not be villainous."  
  
Emma's cousin and uncle laughed again. "And so, I shall remain companion to my uncle and aunt, ever entertaining them with my imagination, and grow to be an old maid," Emma smiled.  
  
"Oh, my silly girl, do not sacrifice a lifetime of happiness simply to entertain an old man. To rejoice in the weddings of two daughters would give me enough pleasure to last the rest of my life. You are as a daughter to me, my dear sweet niece," Emma took the governor's other hand. "Any man who can tame your wild imagination of this non- existent husband and win your heart would be one of the luckiest men in the world."   
  
Emma gave her uncle a calculating look, "any man who would try to tame my imagination would indeed not be for me," they all laughed, and the carriage came to a stop. The footman opened the carriage door and assisted the young ladies out. Just as the party was about to enter the dressmaker's shop, someone called to them, and they stopped.  
  
It was a young man in his mid-twenties who had called them. "Governor Andrews! Good day to you!" he said as he crossed the street which was bustling with the everyday business of the thriving colony.  
  
"Ah, good day to you, young Master Livingstone!" said the governor taking the man's hand and shaking it heartily.  
  
"Miss Julieanne," Livingstone gave a small bow, "all my best wishes for your wedding tomorrow."  
  
"Why, thank you Mr. Livingstone," she smiled.  
  
"And Miss Emma, perhaps we may hope to be favored with your lovely singing voice tomorrow," he took her hand, and kissed it, bowing his head, but never letting his eyes stray from her face. Emma tried to smile politely.  
  
"Ah, I shouldn't want to ruin a perfect wedding with my average singing, sir."  
  
"Don't be silly Emma," Julieanne said.  
  
"I agree with your cousin, Miss Andrews, I doubt your voice to be capable of ruining anything," Livingstone added, who finally dropped her hand. The governor took notice of this gesture, as did Emma, though he did with approval, and she did with annoyance.  
  
"Now, tell me Jonathan, how is your father's plantation?" Governor Andrews inquired.  
  
"Thriving more than ever and busy as always. We're making ready a shipment that will be sent out in two days time. Father has sent me now to check the loading docks, it's a rather large shipment, and they started loading things yesterday morning. Father just wants to be sure that things are running smoothly."  
  
"And am I to understand that your father plans to sign over all the aspects of the plantation to someone else? I was most shocked when my secretary told me there were some legal goings on with the property."  
  
"Well, sir, it's nothing for anyone to worry about, except for myself of course. Father has promised it to be signed over to me as a wedding present."  
  
"Ah! Congratulations! Who is the lucky girl then?" Governor Andrews asked, smiling.  
  
Livingstone turned slightly pink around the ears as he said, "well, that still has to be put in order..."  
  
"I would suggest acting quickly in such matters," The governor said, glancing sideways at his niece, "young ladies simply don't wait forever, you know."  
  
Livingstone's cheeks now matched his ears. "Very good advice Governor Andrews, I shall take it to heart. Well, I must excuse myself, I'm afraid I must be getting to the docks, and I do not wish to keep you from your own business."  
  
"If you must depart then, but pray, will you dine with us this evening, young Master Livingstone?"  
  
"It would be an honor, sir."  
  
"Splendid! We shall be having a small party of our dinner then. My family will be there as well as Julianne's fiancé. Indeed, our table will be surrounded with excellent company this evening."  
  
"I look forward to it, sir," Livingstone said, glancing at Emma. "Good day to you all." Then he hurried off and Governor Andrews, Julieanne and Emma entered the dressmaker's shop. Inside, the governor's wife, Mrs. Andrews, and the governor's mother, Mrs. Margret Andrews, were waiting along with the dressmaker. 


	2. Tea Time

Chapter 2   
  
"Good gracious, my boy! You may be the governor of this colony, but I did not raise my son to keep people waiting!"  
  
"Sorry Mother," he said as he kissed the old woman on the cheek. Mrs. Margret Andrews was quite old, yet she was as full of life and energy as a barrel of gunpowder, and though she was not tall, her anger caused even the tallest men to cower. However, she seldom grew angry, and it was merely her simple commanding presence which inspired respect and good behavior in those around her.   
  
After Julieanne's final fitting, the girl and her parents went off to have tea with the groom's family while Mrs. Margret Andrews and her favorite granddaughter set off to the family's inn.  
  
Long before her son had been made the governor of the colony, Mrs. Margret Andrews and her late husband, Admiral James Andrews, who died some ten years before, had lived in a fine home in the middle of town. Soon after the Admiral's passing their son James was appointed as the governor and the family moved to the governor's mansion. Margret put the Andrews family house to use as an inn and boarding house, catering to the needs of short and long term guests. It was a fine house which, like the mistress, seemed to strike respect into the characters of even the dodgiest lodgers, some of which over the years Emma highly suspected being of piratical employment.  
  
Margret checked to see that all things were running smoothly before she and her granddaughter went into the house's gardens to have their tea. The tea was brought out to them and they drank and ate the small cakes for a few minutes, speaking of the wedding the next day, as well as other things. Margret set down her china.  
  
"Now, my dear Emma, am I quite right to be inquiring about your upcoming marriage?" The woman asked curiously.  
  
Emma choked on her tea. "Absolutely not! Where in the world did you hear such a thing?"  
  
The older woman simply quirked her eyebrows as she raised her cup to her lips again.  
  
"Grandmama!"  
  
"I am a very prominent woman in this colony. I have my sources," the old woman said. The young woman raised her eyebrows much the same way her grandmother had just done. "Oh, alright. First, your uncle said something about talking to Master Livingstone at which time he mentioned something of how his son Jonathan admires you. Then, I saw young Jonathan waiting outside of the dress shop before you arrived there today. Second," she continued, "it is noised about the market how the handsome young Henry Thompson, who has only recently moved to our little colony of New Derbyshire, is already quite taken with you and that he has asked for the first two dances at the ball tomorrow night."  
  
Emma blushed slightly as her grandmother said all of this, and when she had finished, Emma only sighed.   
  
"So...is it true?" Margret asked.  
  
"Well, yes."  
  
"And...?"  
  
"And what?"  
  
"Well, either is a smart match. Whom do you prefer?" Emma looked into the bottom of her cup. "Ah...I understand," Margret smiled. "You not only look like your mother, you have her same disposition. She never fancied any of her suitors either."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Yes, she was just like you, full of life, caring, the most beautiful girl in the colony..."  
  
"Oh Grandmama..."  
  
"Hush! I'm telling you a story! And make sure you listen, I have much more wisdom than you, for I have many more years." Emma giggled. "Now," Margret continued, "your mother was also much sought after by the young men of this colony, but like you, she found not the slightest bit of interest in any of them. Then, one day, there was a young man who sailed into port. He was a fine sailor for a merchant company in England. His name was William, and the two fell in love. They were married and Lillian sailed back to England with him. They were such a handsome couple. The last time I saw Lillian was the day she and William set sail for London. I was so nervous for her, but she of course was full of an adventurous spirit, and entirely in love. We heard from her often, talking all about you and your brother, and what a little lady you were, and about your father's business.  
  
"Then one day we received a letter which was penned by your father asking for your grandfather to come and fetch you and your mother and brother from England. Your mother was extremely ill and William wanted to make sure that all of you were well taken care of while he was at sea. So your grandfather went to London, and not more than two days after he arrived, your mother passed away." Tears brimmed at her eyes, and Emma looked very dispirited. "And you know the rest of the story. Now my dear, I will tell you a different story. This is a story I've never told you before, and you won't know much about it."  
  
Margret took another drink of her tea before continuing. "Young William was such a fine sailor. He was the first mate of the ship Destiny for the Harrison Shipping Company. All of his fellow sailors admired him, and William was about to be named captain when the shipping company lost four of its other ships, leaving the company no alternative but to sell all of their ships and goods and close. However, the owner of the company loved your father like a son, and Mr. Harrison gave him the Destiny, which he owned in his own name and not that of the company. Mr. Harrison was ruined, and your father could not bear it, so he set off with his ship to repair the name of the man he loved as a father.  
  
"Now, how, you may wonder, did he plan on doing this? Well, of the ships that the Harrison Shipping Company lost, two were seized by pirates; the other two were lost to the sea by the elements. And so your father set out to-"  
  
Margret broke off, for a servant had just appeared. He whispered something in her ear and went away.  
  
"What? What is it Grandmamma?"  
  
"We will finish your father's story another day, for time begins to slip away from us, and you must go. But before you leave, a guest has just arrived that I wish for you to meet."   
  
The two women went back into the inn, and the older led the younger to one of the private parlors. Before entering, Margret turned to her granddaughter. "Emma, this man has quite the sense of humor, and if for some reason he happens to be dressed as a pirate, think nothing of it, for he is simply a seaman who deals in the transportation of goods."  
  
"Alright," Emma said with a hint of curiosity in her voice. They went into the parlor and Margret closed the door behind them.  
  
The man had been looking out of the window, and turned when he heard the door close. As he turned to greet them, Emma was glad that her grandmother had warned her beforehand. The man standing before her looked more like a pirate than any person she had met in her life. He wore a pair of worn boots, and dark leggings which were also well worn. He wore a sword at his belt, and she also thought she could see a pistol. He wore a vest over a billowy white shirt, which was partially unbuttoned, revealing his tanned chest, and he sported a beard and mustache, and topped it all off with a bandanna and hat. This man had indeed gone all out to make the piratical impression on her grandmother, even purchasing a wig of dark unkempt hair. Emma would have laughed if she hadn't been so surprised.  
  
Margret and the man began chatting immediately as he walked over and gave her a hug. They were obviously long time friends. After parting from the hug, Margret directed her attention to her granddaughter. "Emma, I want you to meet Mr. Charles Everett."  
  
Mr. Everett bowed slightly and took her hand, raising it to his lips. As their eyes met, Emma's heart jolted. "Charles, this is my lovely granddaughter, Emma Margret," she paused and Everett kissed Emma's hand, "Emma Margret Andrews."  
  
"I must say, it's quite a pleasure to meet you, Miss Andrews, I've heard so much about you," he said.  
  
"Thank you, sir," Emma blushed slightly as she curtsied. Emma quickly looked away, but Everett's gaze stayed on her for a moment longer as Mrs. Andrews began to speak.  
  
"Now, Emma, Mr. Everett and I will excuse you to return to the mansion, I'm sure there are many preparations yet to be made, I will be along soon to help."  
  
Emma agreed and bade farewell. Once Emma had gone, the two sat down. "What is this the two of you are making preparations for?" Everett asked.  
  
"The wedding tomorrow."  
  
"She's getting married?"  
  
"No," Margret laughed. "Her cousin is. Julieanne is the one who is getting married."  
  
"Oh, I see," he said. Neither said anything for a moment.  
  
"You know, I do quite like that alias you use," Margret remarked thoughtfully. The young man sat in silence, thinking. "In fact," Margret continued, "it would be quite an excellent name for you to take on if you were to give up piracy."  
  
Margret laughed at the look of shock on the lad's face concerning this suggestion. "Oh, indeed, you speak blasphemy woman! Never suggest such a thing again!" The two laughed. "Speaking of living on land," he added, raising an eyebrow, "you never said one word of your granddaughter's beauty."  
  
"Does it change matters? You're still pirate and-"  
  
"What? Does she not fancy pirates? Apparently you've forgotten, love, I'm Capt-"  
  
"Oh, pish, don't start. Emma has many fine suitors here in New Derbyshire who do not live at sea, and we'll leave the matter at that. Now, I am told you have news for me?"  
  
"That I do, milady..." 


	3. The Calm Before the Storm

Chapter 3  
  
From the time Emma arrived back at the mansion after tea, she hadn't taken a moment's thought on anything. She was busy with all the preparations for the wedding. It was not just a ceremony; it was a far cry from being merely a ceremony. Mid-morning there was a wedding brunch for the families of the bride and groom and their close friends. The wedding ceremony would take place in the early afternoon, then there would be a garden tea to which all the highest of society were invited after the ceremony. Then the farewell for the bride and groom, after which there would still be more to come of the celebration. There would be a bonfire and after that a ball. Being the Governor, and as such the top of the social rope of the colony, Emma's uncle was expected to put on the most elaborate and exquisite of weddings, which had turned out to be no small task.  
  
Emma's sole duty was that of keeping her cousin sane. This proved to be a highly difficult task; Julieanne insisted on trying to monitor every preparation, every plan, every order, every reply to invitations, and all the food preparations.  
  
The first real break Emma had had from pre-nuptial details and Julieanne's nervousness in weeks was the last hour she'd spent with her grandmother. But Julieanne's nervousness was all she escaped now, for when Emma walked back onto the grounds of the mansion, she was immediately assaulted with questions about the last minute preparations.  
  
So it was that Emma was provided with a legitimate reason for excusing herself from the usual after dinner gathering in the drawing room for cards and other high class activities. The whole family knew that Jonathan Livingstone had asked the governor for a private word before dinner, and they all knew it to be for the sole purpose of gaining her uncle's permission to ask for Emma's hand in marriage.  
  
Luckily Mrs. Margret Andrews was the only one who knew the real purpose for Emma's retiring early. Smart girl, off you go before he gets a moment alone with you to ask the question you don't wish to answer. She smiled at her granddaughter as she made her apologies and exited the room, and indeed, Livingstone looked disappointed at her exit.  
  
Once Emma had closed the door of the drawing room, she heaved a sigh of relief.  
  
"Are you feeling quite alright, Miss Andrews?" the butler standing right next to the door asked. Mr. Jenkins was an old, slightly bent man. He'd served the Andrews family for over thirty years.  
  
"I am quite well now," Emma smiled. Jenkins laughed. "What?" she asked.  
  
"I know you only wish to postpone Master Livingstone's proposal. I've watched you and your mother grow up, so I know what you're up to," Jenkins smiled knowingly. "You know, you are just like her in every way. Let me walk you to your room. I've had your maid draw a bath for you. It should be ready about now. Even if you didn't retire because you have been under pressure this last week, this will be just the thing to relax you for tomorrow."  
  
They began to walk up the stairs. "There is something else you may wish to know, Miss Andrews."  
  
"What is that?" Emma asked puzzled.  
  
"Governor Andrews was called upon by a certain young man this morning, not for business, mind you, but I do believe that Henry Thomas was here about something rather different. He arrived very nervous, and left much less so. Now, if you'll excuse me Miss Andrews, I must attend to my duties," Mr. Jenkins smiled and bowed.  
  
"Well, thank you, sir." Emma walked into her room, a little overwhelmed at the news of Henry Thomas speaking to her uncle as well. She doubted his wanting to ask for her hand to be the occasion for his calling, but she suspected that he had come to ask for permission to court her. She walked into the antechamber of her room, where indeed there was a warm bath waiting. Emma tossed some jasmine from the dressing table onto the surface of the water. She then removed her dress with difficulty, for it was hard to remove the blasted corset without help, and then was able to slip her petticoats and other undergarments off easily. Emma then hopped into the tub.   
  
The water was quite warm and soothing, relaxing her muscles. The jasmine calmed her nerves, and Emma completely emptied her mind. She simply let the water envelop and overcome her. As the water became cool, Emma deserted the tub, pulled on a silk nightgown and retreated to the window in her room.  
  
The sun was hanging low in the sky and the silver clouds burned at the edges with radiant colors from the quailing sun. Emma sat at the window seat and pulled out a manuscript, quill and ink bottle out from the secret place behind the loose moldings next to the glass of the window. Emma had quite an imagination, and loved to write. She would often tell stories to her family after dinner.   
  
Emma had just began to scribble the next part of her writings over the parchment when her maid entered, bearing a tray with some tea. She said that Jonathan Livingstone sent his wishes for her return to health and then left again.  
  
Emma sighed in exasperation and put her story aside. Could she not escape the road she was expected to follow? If it wasn't Livingstone, she would be expected to marry, the it would be Henry Thomas. She could almost live with it but not quite. An unhappy marriage would produce a half-life. But so also would be a life as an old maid. Emma wanted to marry; she just wanted to marry someone she loved deeply who, in turn, felt the same way for her. Jonathan did not feel this way about her or any woman. All he cared for was himself. He wanted the perfect wife, someone who was beautiful, well-liked, and above all, capable of raising his social standing, fortune, and his children. He didn't care about her feelings, only winning her as a wife.  
  
Henry Thomas was a different story. In fact, Emma hardly knew him at all, but he seemed different from Livingstone. Henry Thomas was a bit shy, and he seemed to treat everyone with respect. He was handsome, and Emma did respect him, but she did not love him. Maybe with time she would be proven wrong.  
  
However, marriage itself was only half of why Emma was discontent. She didn't want to have to leave her carefree youth. She wanted to spend days in the gardens and evenings with Julieanne, peeking into the ballroom of the mansion, wishing they could wear the fancy gowns and dance with the dashing men, just as they did in the days of her childhood.  
  
Now she was the one in the fancy gowns, dancing with the men, and though she did enjoy it all, it wasn't nearly as glamorous as she'd hoped for. Maybe it would be, when she finally met the right man. The evenings of dancing would be magical and romantic. Emma sighed and reached for the cup of tea.  
  
Then, for the first time that day since arriving home, Emma thought about tea with her grandmother earlier that afternoon. Tears welled in her eyes as she thought of her grandfather, her father, her mother, and her brother. Grandmother had not spoken much of the loved ones they'd lost. It was such a painful a subject for Emma. Emma tried rarely to think of them, especially her brother. There were too many memories.  
  
Emma closed her eyes and the tears flowed down as she desperately tried to force the memories out of her head, of the childhood, of the voyage, of that day of fog, when a horrible ship had emerged from the white abyss, a ship with black sails, a pirates' ship.  
  
The pirates! Emma thought immediately of the man she'd just been introduced to that day. Charles Everett was handsome, charming, humorous obviously, he was...Emma didn't know, but she watched the sun set, the stars come out, and all the lights in the town except for the taverns go out one by one, still thinking of him. She was interrupted by a small knock on her door amidst her thoughts. Emma got up and answered it, wondering who could be calling this late at night.  
  
Her grandmother stood at the door. "Hello dear, just thought I'd check up on you," she smiled. Emma had a guilty look on her face. Margret laughed, "Don't worry, your secret's safe with me. Now I've brought you something. Come sit over here."  
  
They sat on Emma's bed and Margret handed Emma an old, worn, brown leather journal. There was a ribbon for a bookmark, and at the end of the ribbon there was a golden trinket. It was a simple circle with engraving on it. "This was your father's. I recently came into possession of it, and you should have it."  
  
Emma smiled and thanked her. There was another knock on the door. Emma sat the journal on her bedside table and went to answer it. It was Julieanne. Their grandmother sat with them for a few minutes, then bade the girls goodnight. Julieanne and Emma stayed up all night talking. It was their last night together like this. They talked of everything, of all their childhood memories, of Julieanne's wedding, of Emma's prospective proposals. However, Emma didn't speak of the journal or of Everett... 


	4. Rupert Douglas

Chapter 4  
  
The man who we still only know as Charles Everett, who is indeed a pirate, would spend all night awake as well. The nightlife of his lifestyle had just started heating up for the evening in a tavern near the docks where he sat at the bar. All others in the tavern, including some of Everett's crew, were making merry, downing large amounts of liquor, gambling, surrounding themselves with pleasurable company, exchanging wild stories...  
  
On any other night Everett would undoubtedly be doing the same, in the thick of it all. However, tonight, Everett sat alone at the bar, thinking. Everett had hardly been able to keep his mind focused on what he needed to think about without having his thoughts interrupted by other thoughts of the girl he had just met, the granddaughter of Margret Andrews. But Emma was not a girl. He had heard stories of her as she'd grown up; now she was a lady.  
  
"Stop this nonsense," he told himself, "it's just as Margret says, I am a pirate." It wasn't as if he'd never met a woman before, but he couldn't get her out of his head. She was certainly the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen, though he'd traveled the world over dozens of times.  
  
"Stop!" he again told himself. But even her voice! The few words she had spoken when they met had echoed throughout his entire frame. The sound of her voice haunted his thoughts and had him entranced. It was absolute nonsense. What was going on with him?  
  
A loud bang of the door finally distracted him from his thoughts, for which he was glad. In walked a captain along with his crew.  
  
"Listen up all of you," the captain roared after climbing up onto the bar, "my name is Captain Rupert Douglas and you'll all want to be rememb'rin' it, because yer all gettin' a round of drinks on me!"  
  
The whole tavern gave a loud cheer. The bartender busily passed around drinks as fast as he could. Everett watched the captain as his crew dispersed from him and folded into the crowded tavern. Douglas noticed Everett and came and sat by him. The two sat in silence, both drinking to the bottom of their tankards before saying a word to each other.   
  
Douglas motioned the bartender over. "Give me something for a victory."  
  
"So, my old friend," Douglas said, turning to Everett, "we thought you were dead. 'S good t' see yer not. Now, I don't care how ye did it either, for I don't care much for the past. Tryin' t' forget it actually," Douglas smiled as he took a drink of what the bartender had placed before him.  
  
"Ah, well, 's a good way to start, fashioning yerself a new name, Captain Douglas," said our man. "In fact, I've done the same for myself in some situations. If you wish you may call me Captain Charles Everett, seein' as you're tryin' t' forget your past and all."  
  
"That'll work just fine, I believe." Douglas drained the rest of his cup. "So, it's 'Everett' then, is it? I like it."  
  
"So, what's the 'victory' ye be celebratin'?" Charles asked Rupert.  
  
"Oh, nothing, just a small business matter...a little revenge, some treasure I'll be getting..." Douglas trailed off. He had no intention of telling his old friend about his hard work of finding what he had, and absolutely would not tell what it was he was about to do next.  
  
However, as Douglas emptied glass after glass of the sweet liquor which his friend was gladly buying for him, he also emptied the information.  
  
After a couple of hours, Everett left the unconscious Douglas and the tavern with an empty purse, a head full of information, and a quick stride back to his ship. There was much to do, and if he didn't work fast enough, it would be a much harder task which lay ahead of him. 


	5. Carriage Ride

Chapter 5  
  
So far the day had been a lovely one, or as lovely as a day can be when one is dreading inevitable marriage proposals which could happen at any moment, while being held in the confines of the whalebone, fabric and laces of a corset. Other than that the day was going quite well.  
  
The brunch, ceremony, and tea had been all quite delightful. It was a bittersweet parting between Emma and Julieanne, being more of sisters than cousins. Now Emma was in her room, free, if only for a few minutes, of her corset.  
  
Emma changed into her new gorgeous silky gown, with all its petticoats. She would wear it to the bonfire and then to the ball immediately following. The gown was a deep blue which complimented her golden-brown hair. Margret Andrews had not spoken with partiality when she said Emma was the prettiest girl in the colony, for she simply was. Emma never thought this, for she was very humble and never thought that of herself. She was self-confident, but in no way was she a snob.  
  
Emma was going in a carriage all to herself, and she was grateful, for she hadn't had a moment to alone all day. She closed her bedroom door and made her way down the long corridor, down the large staircase, and almost out the door before remembering she'd left her dance card in her room. She went back to retrieve it. That's odd, I don't remember having left the window open, she thought. Molly, her maid, must have opened it just after she'd left. She quickly found her dance card and left.   
  
As the carriage made its way down the road Emma took a look at the names on her dance card. Henry Thomas for the first two. There were a few others as well; Livingstone wasn't listed. At least that would take away some of the pressure. However, there was really only one man Emma had an interest in seeing, Mr. Charles Everett. It must be the mysteriousness of his manner which was so captivating to her, she thought.  
  
The evening at the ball turned out rather well, much better than she'd expected. She had quite a lovely time actually. In fact, she'd spent most of her time with Henry Thomas. She found him interesting, and very polite. He would talk to her, but he would also let her talk. It was nice to at least know that she could find him to be a good friend. Perhaps she could even marry him. The other wonderful part about the time she'd spent with Henry was that he hadn't any intentions of asking her to marry him this evening. They'd simply spent time getting to know one another. He had asked her if she would like to accompany him the next afternoon for a walk. She'd said yes, and she was looking forward to it, if only for the fact that she'd have a companion to spend some time with. Now that Julieanne was married, Emma had no other unmarried friends. Henry was not trying to win the trophy wife, and though she wasn't entirely in love with him yet, there was indeed potential there.  
  
She could hardly believe that her feelings could have changed so drastically after one evening. As Emma rode in the carriage on the way home, she thought that maybe this evening had been the beginning of one of those magical and romantic nights she'd hoped for when she was younger. She'd let Fate take its course.  
  
All of a sudden, the carriage jolted to a sudden stop, and the horses neighed in fear. She could hear men's voices saying something. There were two shots fired, Emma had a sharp intake of breath, scared to make a noise, and then she heard the horrid sounds of dead weight tumbling to the ground. The men laughed, and Emma cringed at the sound of their cold voices.  
  
The carriage door opened, and Emma jumped. A man entered, and she knew without a doubt that he was a pirate. He was dressed like one, had his pistol drawn, smelled entirely of liquor, and had no regard for self-propriety, as he sat entirely too close for Emma's comfort.  
  
"Well, great tides, your father never said one word about what a fine treasure you are. It's good to be gettin' double the treasure for my revenge," he said, with a wicked smile on his face. His eyes held a manic gleam.  
  
"What? You knew my father?" Emma asked in shock as she tried to move away from the horrid man.  
  
"Aye, 'tis true lass, I knew your father. Since the time I was just a young lad. He taught me the ways of the sea. Then things happened, and now I hate him, and I've killed him, and he may try and haunt me, but I'll be enjoyin' his treasures," he leaned closer to Emma and tried to touch her cheek, a ravenous look in his eye. A chill ran down the back of her spine.  
  
"You're despicable!" Emma slapped his face, and his hand immediately covered his cheek while the other, which had been tracing Emma's jaw line, grabbed hold of her hair, yanking it hard, lifting her chin up.  
  
"You'd best learn your manners girl. You'll learn to fear the name of Captain Rupert Douglas once I'm through with you," he roughly shoved her across to the other side of the carriage. Emma scowled at him as she sat on the other seat. As Douglas gave a short laugh, Emma scrambled to the door of the carriage, willing to jump out even as it was moving. But before she'd opened the door, she heard the click of a pistol being set and froze. "Sit back down lass."  
  
Emma reluctantly sat back opposite Douglas. She crossed her arms. "When my uncle..."  
  
"When your uncle what? What, pray tell, will yer uncle do? There's no way to start looking for you, so how will he be able to? He does not know who's taken you, what ship you are on, or which direction we will be sailing." Douglas gave a triumphant laugh at the look of hopelessness which came over Emma's face. There was not one thing she could do to escape this, and he was right, no one else would know where to start searching for her. For all she knew, she wouldn't live more than a few days.  
  
The noises of burning buildings were only the undercurrent to the shouts and screams of the townspeople as their colony was ransacked and destroyed, undoubtedly by Douglas' crew. The streets were filled with chaos, fear and destruction. Emma's heart broke as she thought of the devastation being brought upon her home and the people she knew and loved. She could do no more to stop the destruction than she could to free herself from the carriage and her captain as they rolled through the ravaging. Silent tears rolled down her cheeks.  
  
The carriage finally came to a stop as they reached the docks. "After you lass," Douglas smiled evilly, motioning to the door with his pistol. Emma stepped out of the carriage, and he followed directly after her, holding the tip of the pistol in between her shoulder blades, forcing her towards a large ship. A thick fog had rolled in quickly, and she thought horribly of another foggy time, the only other time she had been thrust into the path of pirates. She shuddered involuntarily as the memory came to mind, but was brought back to the present by the gun being pushed into her back, forcing her to keep walking.  
  
She soon found herself on the deck of Rupert Douglas' ship. The smell of the wood even seemed to reek of evil. "Now, if you'll just come this way, none of the rest of me crew's back from pillaging, so I'll have to lock you in the brig meself."  
  
"No, Douglas, I don't believe you will be," said a voice from a little ways away. 


	6. Rescue

Chapter 6  
  
Douglas and Emma both turned toward where the voice had come from. To Emma's utter disbelief, Charles Everett stepped out of the fog and shadows, drawing his sword.  
  
"What in the blazes are you doing here?" Douglas asked, raising his pistol. "Really, I would have thought you would've had enough sense t' stay outta this. Now, you may have escaped a deserted island, but honestly, how are you going to get yourself out of this?"  
  
"See, that's exactly it, I'm a dishonest man, therefore, why would I do anything honestly?" Emma couldn't help but snicker, and Douglas looked away from Everett, surprised at Emma's giggles. It was just long enough for Everett to knock the gun out of Douglas' hand, slash his other arm, grab Emma's wrist and pull her to the other side of the deck. It all happened as quickly as lightening. Emma had hardly realized all that had happened before Everett took a hold of her around the waist and with his other arm grabbed a rope and swung off the ship.   
  
Emma was surprised to find that instead of splashing into the ocean as she'd expected them to, they landed on the deck of another ship. The fog was so thick Emma couldn't see back to the other ship but she heard Douglas yell. "Jack! Jack, you'll never get away. I'll never stop hunting her!"  
  
"Full sailing, Gibbs!" Everett cried. "Let's go Anna Maria! Let's go!" Everett then turned to her, "Are you alright? Did he harm you in any way?" He took her arm and started to lead her across the deck, and while the look of concern on his face was genuine and comforting to her, Emma's head was racing.  
  
"Why did he call you Jack?"  
  
"Because that would be me name, love."  
  
"You're not Charles Everett?"  
  
"Of course not, and you're not Emma Andrews. Now are you hurt?"  
  
"No," Emma said, still confused and wanting answers. "What do you mean I'm not Emma Andrews? And if you're not Charles Everett, then who are you?"  
  
"I'm Captain Jack Sparrow," he said with a slight bow.  
  
"Jack Sparrow? You're Jack Sparrow?!"  
  
"Captain. It's Captain Jack Sparrow."  
  
"But...then...well, that means you are a pirate!"  
  
Jack laughed, "Yes, love. Now seeing as you're not hurt, I'll have Gibbs show you to your room, as captain of the Black Pearl, I must oversee our departure. Gibbs!"  
  
"But I...the Black Pearl?"  
  
"I thought you may want to retire, you're exhausted are you not?" Jack said.  
  
"Well, yes, but..."  
  
Just then Gibbs appeared a few feet away out of the fog. "Mr. Gibbs, show Miss Turner to her room."  
  
"Aye Cap'n," he said and Jack swished away. "Right this way Miss." Gibbs led Emma across the deck to a doorway below the poop deck. Emma could hear Jack above them shouting out orders to the rest of his crew. Mr. Gibbs opened the door and Emma followed him inside. It was exceedingly fine. Emma hadn't expected it to be furnished so well. There were beautiful furnishings and exotic tapestries and draperies over the windows.  
  
"This is exquisite."  
  
"Aye, 'tis Miss. First mate's quarters. He insists you have them."  
  
"Who is the first mate?" Emma asked.  
  
"Why you're lookin' at 'im."  
  
"Oh my! Are you sure?"  
  
"Sure as the tide," he smiled.  
  
"Oh, Mr. Gibbs!" Emma gave the man a hug. "Thank you ever so much!"  
  
"'Tisn't any trouble Miss," he said. "The Pearl's a fine ship, and crew's quarters have always been fine enough for me. I find this room to fancy for meself, never slept one night in here, come to think of it."  
  
Emma laughed. "Thank you all the same," she smiled. Gibbs winked and closed the door, leaving Emma alone.   
  
Emma felt odd. She felt like she should fear what was going on and those around her but she found herself trusting Jack and his crew completely. She had no reason to think of them as anything but barbaric pirates, but she couldn't explain why she did not fear them in the slightest. She felt as safe in this room as she did in her own room. Perhaps it was the fact that her grandmother seemed to trust Jack. But then, did her grandmother know that he was Jack Sparrow? Then she thought about how her she'd told her not to be alarmed at his attire, that, what was it? "He's simply a seaman who deals in the transportation of goods..." Of course Grandmamma knew Jack Sparrow was a pirate, obviously she'd just been covering for his real identity.  
  
Emma lay down on the bed, thoroughly exhausted. After not sleeping the previous night, all the days activities, and being kidnapped, Emma was ready to sleep. But before she surrendered to sleep, she was haunted by the words Douglas had screamed after them, "I'll never stop hunting her!" Why did Jack know her real name was not Andrews? And then there was the last time she'd met with pirates, that foggy day long ago... 


	7. The Nightmare

Chapter 7  
  
Emma walked down a village street, turned to her left to a small passageway which led to another, less crowded street, descended a few stairs, passed a statue of something, she didn't see what, and then opened a door to her left. There was a sign hanging above the door, but she didn't take the time to look at it. There was something very important waiting for her behind the door, she could feel it. She opened the door hesitantly at first, then threw it open and dashed through it.  
  
As she walked through the door, she found that she was not inside, but on the deck of a ship. She was surrounded in fog and could hardly see more that fifteen feet in front of her. Someone placed a hand on her shoulder, making her jump. She turned around to see her brother.  
  
"Alright Emma, I'm hiding. Count to one hundred," he said smiling.  
  
"Oh! I hate being the one to seek! You never let me hide!"  
  
"I'm older, so I get to choose."  
  
"It doesn't count; we're twins, so you were only older by luck!"  
  
"Aye, that's about right. So, you'd best start counting," he could see that Emma was terribly disappointed. "You can hide next time Emma, I promise."  
  
She immediately brightened. "Really?"  
  
"Only if you can find me! But this time I'm not coming out, you have to find me, or else I'll never see you again. That means you'll never get your turn to hide," he laughed. Emma began to count. The fog seemed to close in all around her, making it unnecessary to cover her, but she did anyway. She couldn't hear anything but her counting either.  
  
"Ninety-seven...ninety-eight...ninety-nine...one-"  
  
BOOM! There was a horrible explosion which rocked the entire boat. Emma staggered and had hardly started to make her way to the helm when the ship was hit again. She reached the helm and found her grandfather giving orders. "Load the cannons immediately! I want all men out here doing whatever they can; any idle hand will be severely punished!"  
  
The ship was under attack by pirates. As the pirates made to board the ship, Emma was taken to one of the small boats and told to stay there. The boat was lowered into the water in hopes that the fog would hide her from the site of the pirates. Emma began to cry in fear, not knowing what would happen, wondering where her brother was, hoping beyond hope he would be safe. Cannons continued to pound and the air was filled constantly with the clashing of metal against metal. This continued for a few minutes, and Emma listened to the yells of the men, trying to discern what was happening, who had the upper hand. The sound of swords died down and Emma began to breathe easily again. Then there was a large blast, bigger than the sounds made by the cannons.  
  
Emma bolted up, breathing quickly, there were tears streaming down her face. It was only a dream, she wasn't reliving the ordeal. Emma took a deep breath, closing her eyes, to calm herself. When she opened them she noticed there was someone sitting on a chair next to her. It was still dark and she couldn't see who was in her room. He leaned forward when he saw she was paying attention to him. He hadn't wanted to startle her.  
  
"Bad dream, love?" Jack asked her.  
  
"The worst."   
  
Jack moved from the chair to sit on the edge of the bed facing her. He smiled. "Thought that might be the case, heard you in my room, just the other side of this wall."  
  
"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to wake you," she said, feeling a little embarrassed.  
  
"Don't worry about it, I wasn't exactly sleeping. I wanted to talk to you anyway."  
  
"Oh, you did?"  
  
"I see you didn't change your attire," he said. Emma had fallen asleep in her dress, corset and all. "Don't you find that uncomfortable?"  
  
"Well, what else am I supposed to wear?"  
  
Jack laughed, "Gibbs forgot to tell you. I took the liberty of gathering up some things from your room, thought you'd like to have a change of clothes."  
  
"What? How did you..."  
  
"Now, I'm going to go out onto the deck, make sure that we're still on course. You can change and come meet me up there; the sun is going to rise soon." Jack left without another word. Emma sat there in disbelief for a moment. Jack Sparrow seemed to live entirely in his own world. He only answered what he felt was needed and convenient, or unavoidable. Emma laughed. Then she thought, why do I trust him? I still have no real reason to do so. Emma rolled off the bed and walked to the wardrobe. She opened the doors and was astonished to see that the clothes therein where her very own. 


	8. Exposition

Chapter 8  
  
A few minutes later, Emma emerged from her quarters, changed into a new dress, and headed directly to where Jack stood at the helm. There were many things she wanted to talk to him about. "You're up just in time, love; the sun is just beginning to come up."  
  
"Captain Sparrow-" but he immediately interrupted her.  
  
"Call me Jack, love."  
  
Emma rolled her eyes, but Jack didn't notice because he was intently watching the horizon. "Jack, we need to talk."  
  
"I know. Do you want to talk about your dream? Was it about that good for nothing scum who tried to kidnap you last night?" he asked, looking directly into her eyes, he saw a sadness in them that hadn't been there when they met two days before.  
  
"No," Emma said simply, looking away, towards the horizon where the sun's rays were starting to cast an orange hue at the edge of the sky, where it met the water.  
  
Neither said anything for a moment, and then Jack asked, "What was it, love? You can tell me."  
  
Emma still said nothing for a minute or two. Then she took a deep breath, and began to tell Jack all about her dream. When she got to the point at which she'd woken up, she continued with what happened after that horrible ordeal. "My grandfather and I, as well as a few other crew members were found by a merchant ship owned by Mr. Thomas, who lives where my mother's family lives, where I live now. My grandfather and the other sailors that were rescued died on the way back to New Derbyshire. They all sustained horrible wounds from those blood-thirsty pirates. They never found any of the other crew," Emma said, wiping tears out of her eyes, "or my brother."  
  
Jack stood in silence next to her; his heart ached at her despair. He didn't know why, but he couldn't stand the thought of her feeling any pain. "Emma, I'm so sorry. Really and truly, I am. I have much to tell you, but first I need to know exactly what happened last night. You need to tell me everything that good for nothing scum said, savvy?"  
  
Emma recounted the whole ordeal. Then Jack said, "All of this is going to be a very long story. There is much I need to explain to you." He leaned against the railing, and Emma did the same. "Do you know anything of the Isle of Clandestine?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Almost no one does. There are only four people who even know it exists. It is an isle about two weeks journey from New Derbyshire. The isle isn't more than two miles long, it's one in a large group of islands which are inhabited, but Clandestine is the smallest, and it's hidden by many of the other islands."  
  
"What does this island have to do with anything Jack?"  
  
"Everything. It holds unfathomable amounts of treasure," then he looked directly at her again, "your father's treasure." Emma's eyes widened, and her mouth dropped. "Ah, are you starting to understand why it's so important? The only people who know this island exists and that it holds more treasure than any man could want are your father, me, your grandmother, and Rupert Douglas. The only people who actually know where it is are Douglas and you."  
  
"What does this island have to do with anything Jack?"  
  
"Everything. It holds unfathomable amounts of treasure," then he looked directly at her again, "your father's treasure." Emma's eyes widened, and her mouth dropped. "Ah, are you starting to understand why it's so important? The only people who know this island exists and that it holds more treasure than any man could want are your father, me, your grandmother, and Rupert Douglas. The only people who actually know where it is are Douglas and you."  
  
"Me? I certainly have no idea; I didn't even know it existed before now!"  
  
Jack pulled something out from his coats inner pocket. Emma gasped, it was the journal her grandmother had given her two nights before. "Picked it up when I brought your clothes."  
  
"Jack, how did you know about all this, and when did you get my things?"  
  
"Well, I will tell you how, its part of this story I'm telling you. Now, when I got them. Last night, just as you were leaving to go to the bonfire and ball."  
  
"When I came back to get my dance card the window was open, and it hadn't been before."  
  
"Precisely, knew you would figure it out. I had to open the window to throw things out. I could sneak in and out of the house fine all by me onesies, but multiple trips with a load of clothes and things, that's a tad more difficult," he smiled. "Now, I'm sure that the map is in that journal somewhere. It was your father's journal, and he wrote everything in there."  
  
Emma opened the journal and began to flip through its pages. "He wouldn't have simply written it on one of the pages." she mumbled. One of the pages was book marked by a silky ribbon with a ring on the end. There was only one thing on that particular page, a song Emma's father had sung to his children when they were small, before he sailed a lot. Jack read it aloud over her shoulder, "That's a wonderful lullaby."  
  
Emma read it over a couple of times, recalling sweet childhood memories of her father singing to her and her brother.   
  
In my heart there always lies  
  
A remembrance of your sweet eyes  
  
And I know that you're watching over me  
  
Even when I'm on the sea  
  
I've this feeling that we'll be  
  
Sharing dreams 'neath the same bright stars  
  
For I love you, and ah me,  
  
I ne'er will happy be  
  
'Till when again ye be back in my arms  
  
She looked closer at the writing. Some of the letters in the song slanted incorrectly, quite a few of them, in fact. She looked at the letters, and then realized how obvious it was. No one would think about reading the simple song twice, and therefore never notice the slightly incorrect slant. The letters formed a phrase. "Treasures are found within," she whispered. "Treasures are found within! That's it! It's brilliant! Jack, do you have a knife?" He handed it to her with a questioning look. She took it and opened the book to its back cover. She slipped the knife around the inner layer of the cover. Hidden between the layers of the cover were two pieces of almost translucent paper.  
  
"That type of paper comes from Singapore," Jack said, amazed at what Emma had found. Emma unfolded the papers. One was a map; the other was a letter, addressed to her. "It's right here," she smiled at him. "He would never have written something simple and plain in his journal where anyone could take it and find the map," she laughed.   
  
"You are the brilliant one!" Jack beamed at her. "I couldn't sleep last night, not because of the noise you made," Emma looked a little guilty, and he added, "don't worry, I wouldn't have heard you if I hadn't been wide awake. I kept thinking about what Douglas said."  
  
"About how he would never stop hunting me?"  
  
"Yes, so what we're going to do is we're going to sail out to afore mentioned island, kill Douglas and then we're done with him, savvy?"  
  
"What? Jack, it's not that I don't appreciate your concern, but why do you care so much?"  
  
"Well, because I want the treasure, of course."  
  
"Jack, don't lie to me. I know that's not the real reason. The first mate's quarters are furnished more expensively than the governor's mansion. Tell me the real reason."  
  
"A pirate always wants more treasure," he surmised, and though she nodded in agreement he knew she was unconvinced. "Are you this brilliant all the time?" Jack frowned slightly.  
  
"Jack."  
  
He sighed, "I suppose you are. I don't know if you'll want to hear this. This all starts a very long time ago. You're father was a pirate," he said very fast and held his breath.  
  
"I already know."  
  
"You do?"  
  
"My grandmother started to tell me about my father just before I met you, and I figured it out from the little bit of information she told me then."  
  
"You are bloody brilliant. So then, you're father pillaged, plundered, and cached his heart out. I met him when I was a young lad, only nine. I learned everything about being a pirate from him; he was like a dad to me. He talked about his family at home all the time and I suppose he took such a liking to me because I was only a few years older than his real son.   
  
"But his luck began to run dry for a bit, and we joined the crew of the Black Pearl, that's how we met Rupert Douglas, but back then he was Jess McAndrews. We'd been with the Pearl and its crew a few years, we were in a big battle with another pirate ship, and our captain was killed. The crew then decided to make me the captain. I was only fifteen then, but I was the quickest with the sword, and really bright, and all the crew liked me, and they thought that a youngin' such as meself wouldn't have any ideas of cheatin' 'em or lyin' to 'em, and a fair captain always gives fair shares of any booty. They were almost right with their assumptions. I could have cheated 'em anytime I wanted to, but I never did, thought about it, but then your dad would always keep me straight. He's a good man, your dad." Jack then gave a short laugh, "In truth, I wasn't even as good a swordsman as the crew thought I was, but it's all about the illusion, see? It's finding the opportune moment."  
  
"Then me mutinous first mate, Barbossa, convinced the rest of the crew that I was worthy of bein' marooned. So they marooned me, and your dad and Jess were the only ones who had somethin' to say about it. Jess kept his comments quiet, but your dad was an honest man, and honest men tend to do incredibly stupid things. He got after Barbossa and the rest, told 'em what they did wasn't right, that they deserved to be cursed- "  
  
"Cursed?" Emma asked.  
  
"Aye. On the Isle de Muerta, there is a chest with a terrible treasure; it holds a curse set upon it by the Aztec gods to punish Cortes for his unquenchable greed. Any man who takes a single gold coin of it will be cursed, food will turn to ash in his mouth, lust will never be satisfied, and so they're not alive, but they can't die, though they want to. This is actually the treasure we were on our way to collect when Barbossa betrayed me, come to think of it, which turned out alright, because I never shared in the curse," he laughed. Emma smiled, and he continued.  
  
"So, your dad said they deserved the curse, and so he sent a medallion off to his son, and Barbossa decided they'd best put a stop to all your dad's noble deeds. So, they tied his bootstraps to cannon and dropped him off the side, leaving him to Davy Jones' Locker," Emma gasped, horrified, and put a hand to her mouth. Jack took her hand away and said, "Emma, your dad used a piece of the gold for his own means. He was cursed as well. He couldn't die." Emma's jaw dropped. "You're only brilliant when you don't let your emotions get in the way," Jack continued to hold onto Emma's hand, though neither of them noticed this. "So, since he couldn't die, he simply walked along the bottom of the ocean until he reached some land. Then he got himself another boat and went back to pillaging, he ran across Jess McAndrews in a pub one night, and they became partners. They'd pillage for a while, then take a stop off at Tortuga for a few months and their crew would go their own way for about five or six weeks, which would give your dad time to go and store his treasure back at the Isle of Clandestine, stop off and visit your grandmother to find out about you and then get back to Tortuga."  
  
"He came to New Derbyshire and he never saw me? Ever?" Emma felt so hurt and betrayed.  
  
Jack looked into her eyes, "he did it to keep you safe, love. There are things a man can do and things a man can't do, and if he wanted to make sure that you were always safe, he couldn't risk anyone seeing him with you." A look of understanding came over her face.  
  
"Now, we're about to the end of the story, because I don't really know what happened, but Jess felt at one point that he'd been cheated by your dad. He tried to convince the crew of his faults, but the crew knew Jess was in the wrong, so they dropped him off at the next place they docked the ship. Now, two nights ago, I went to the tavern, and in he came, and he told me all this, and he told me that before they dropped him off, he got into your dad's cabin and somehow managed to make a copy of the map, and he's been trying to figure out how to get the treasure for the last year or a little more, and all he needs now is the key. As of about a week ago, he finally figured out what the key was, as well as where it was located, and then he came straight for it.  
  
Emma thought for a moment, and then her eyes widened as the realization dawned on her. "It's the ring, is it not?"  
  
"Aye, 'tis the ring. Sheer brilliance of both you and your father. Now, listen to this next part love. Jess McAndrews' original plan was to only find you and steal the ring, for he figured you'd be wearing it. However, he heard around town that it wouldn't be horrible for him to bring you along as well. That's basically all that I can tell you." Jack turned from gazing at the horizon and looked Emma straight in the eyes.   
  
"So Jack, why did you decide to rescue me? Why is it worth your while? Why would you go to the trouble?"  
  
"Because," he said, smiling and turning back to the horizon, "I'm Captain Jack Sparrow, it's what I do, savvy?"  
  
Emma raised her eyebrows skeptically. "I can see you're not going to tell me why."  
  
"Don't you trust me?" He asked her.  
  
"Obviously, Captain, or I wouldn't have permitted you to hold my hand for as long as you have." She smiled as Jack quickly dropped her hand and averted his gaze. She could've sworn his ears turned slightly pink as well. "Thank you for saving my life, Jack," she said and quickly kissed his cheek and hurried away before he got over the shock.  
  
Jack placed a hand on his cheek where Emma had just kissed him. Though Jack had been slapped numerous times, on no other occasion was he left with such an impression, indeed, he stood motionless for a few minutes, and couldn't even think of what he should do. What was going on with him? Captain Jack Sparrow did not hold a woman's hand. He may have shared his bed with many a woman, but he had never held a woman's hand before, not with the tenderness with which he'd held the hand of Emma. He'd had no thoughts of seducing her, he'd just wanted to make her feel safe, to comfort her. Captain Jack Sparrow did not blush, let alone at a few simple words. He did not have silly infatuations, and, most importantly, Captain Jack Sparrow did not go around saving damsels in distress or fall in love with said damsels. What was he thinking? He did not fall in love, period. 


	9. Robinson Crusoe

Chapter 9  
  
A couple of hours later, Jack found himself taking a plate of bread, cheese and strawberries to Emma's room. The bread wasn't dry, and the cheese wasn't stale, and the strawberries were deliciously fresh. Jack and his crew lived lavishly, indulging in all the good things in life, seeming to have unending riches. Jack didn't know why he was even doing this; he could have sent someone else to take food to Emma.   
  
Emma woke up when the door opened, and she yawned, stretching one arm sleepily. She didn't wake from Jack's disturbance, but from Anna Maria's shouts to the crew outside of her cabin. She heard a tsking noise and opened her eyes reluctantly as she heard Jack say, "Still sleeping? Shiver me timbers, love, do you do nothing but sleep?"  
  
She laughed and then yawned before saying, "Captain Sparrow, I'd like to see you stay up all night, go through lavish wedding activities, get kidnapped, rescued, have a nightmare, watch the sunrise, all in a corset mind you, and find sleep uninviting, especially when I don't have anything else to keep me busy."  
  
"Well, I suppose I'll allow it this time," Jack smirked. Emma was so interesting, smart, funny...what was he thinking? "I brought you some brunch." He set the plate down on the bedside table.  
  
"Oh, thank you! I'm starving," she said, taking a strawberry off the plate. Jack sat down on the chair he'd placed by her bed earlier. "These are absolutely delicious. Now, Jack, how many ladies have you rescued?"  
  
"Well, all by me onesies, just you," he said, averting his gaze to the plate of food.  
  
"Really?" Emma quirked an eyebrow. "That's fascinating..." she started to say something else, but Jack cut her off.  
  
"However, I said by me onesies, savvy? The other time I was helping a mate to get back his kidnapped bonnie lass," he finished defensively.  
  
"Alright, alright. You know, Jack, it's not very comforting to know that you're still new at the rescuing of damsels in distress, I mean..."  
  
He cut her off again, angrily, "well, I can always just..."  
  
"Jack," she said, grabbing his arm as he stood up, forcing him to sit down on the edge of her bed. "Let me continue. I was going to say that however inexperienced you may be, you're doing an excellent job of it," she smiled sweetly.  
  
"Oh, well, thank you, love," he tipped his hat. Emma's stomach filled with butterflies as he flashed a smile at her.  
  
They spoke for another moment or two, and then he left to attend to things on deck. Emma sighed and fell back on to the pillow. Captain Jack Sparrow was so handsome, in appearance and demeanor. Even though he was a pirate, she couldn't help the feeling in her stomach when he smiled at her. Why was she torturing herself over him? Captain Jack Sparrow was, and ever would be, an infamous pirate.  
  
Besides, Henry Thomas was at home in New Derbyshire waiting for her, and she knew he'd be a good husband and companion. If she was home right at this moment, she'd be getting ready to accompany Henry for their walk.  
  
Emma finished her meal, checked her appearance in the mirror, and emerged on deck to see a few crew members doing things here and there. She didn't see Jack anywhere, but Mr. Gibbs sat over on the starboard side of the ship, talking to a man a little older than Jack, who was adjusting some ropes. When Gibbs saw Emma, he smiled and beckoned her over.  
  
"Did ye sleep well Emma?" he asked.  
  
"For the most part," she didn't tell him about her nightmare. They talked for a few minutes and then Jack walked up behind them and cleared his throat.   
  
"Hope yer not tellin' about me again Gibbs," the captain said.  
  
"Yar, o' course I wasn't, o' course I wasn't," he replied to Jack. Emma laughed, for Gibbs had just begun to tell her a story of one of Jack's narrow escapes.  
  
"Is that so?" Jack smiled. "Get back to work, ye scurvy dogs. Emma, can I borrow you a moment?"  
  
"Anna Maria told me this morning about how you 'borrowed' her ship a few years ago, and she hasn't seen it since."  
  
"Aye, but did she tell you that I also got her a better ship?"  
  
"The ship that you commandeered from the Royal Navy, which ended up getting blown to pieces?"  
  
"Sink me! When did she have time to even tell you about that?"  
  
"This morning after I talked to you," she smiled.  
  
Emma followed him across the deck of the Pearl and into what she assumed to be the captain's suite. There was a huge desk covered with maps in one corner of the room and a large round table with candlesticks on the other side; one wall was lined with shelves and shelves of books, which highly surprised her. She walked toward them with awe. "Read much?" Jack asked her.  
  
"I'm addicted to the written word," Emma said passionately. "Do you?" she asked, still scanning the titles in front of her.  
  
"Not as much as I'd like, but I've read all of them at least once, some more than once," Emma turned her head and stared at him, jaw dropped. "What?" he asked.  
  
"I just didn't expect...because...well, you're a pirate."  
  
He laughed, "Ah, but I'm Captain Jack Sparrow, love." She smiled and looked back to the hundreds of books in front of her. "Do you mind if I take a look at the map?"  
  
"Oh, of course," she said, handing the map over to him. "I'd actually been looking for you before I started talking with Mr. Gibbs and Mr., oh, I didn't find out his name," Emma looked very embarrassed.  
  
"Don't worry about it, love. No need to be proper on this ship, savvy? His name's Lyle Patrick, good pirate, good sailor." Jack studied the map carefully, then walked over to the desk, and opened one of the drawers and pulled out a bottle of ink and a quill. Emma joined him over by the desk and saw the huge map of the Caribbean which had been rolled out over the desktop. After a few more moments of contemplating the smaller maps contents, Jack dipped the quill into the ink and began to plot out the location of the Isle of Clandestine onto the large map.   
  
Emma saw another book lying face down and open on the desk, keeping track of Jack's place. "May I?" she asked Jack. He looked up from the map and nodded. Jack jumped in his chair when Emma nearly screamed in delight, "Robinson Crusoe?! I've wanted to read this for over a year now! My uncle ordered it from France, but the ship was ransacked by pirates before it reached New Derbyshire."  
  
"Well, then, you may have it," Jack said.  
  
"But, you're in the middle of reading it, and it's your book. Are you sure?" she asked  
  
"First," Jack laughed, "I've read it more than four times; second, I stole it from a merchant ship headed to New Derbyshire about a year ago." Emma and Jack both laughed at this. "So, yes, you may take it, and any of the other books you may want to read for that matter."  
  
"Thank you," Emma said truly touched by his kindness.  
  
Jack finished mapping Clandestine and then said, "You know, Robinson Crusoe and I have something in common."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"I'm not quick to admit it, but I've been the governor of my own small uninhabited island."  
  
"You have?"  
  
"Twice," Jack smiled as Emma tried not to laugh.  
  
"I'm sorry," she said smiling.  
  
"Well, it is rather an amusing tale. I'll tell you tonight, if you'd care to dine with me."  
  
"I'd be quite delighted to accept your invitation, Captain Sparrow." They both smiled at each other for a moment. Then realizing what was going on, Emma looked at the map and Jack cleared his throat. Then Emma gasped, "Jack, didn't you just draw the Isle of Clandestine on this map?"  
  
"Yes, blow right here," he said, pointing at a spot on the map. She did and her eyes widened as after she drew back, the markings he'd made reappeared. "The ink is from Singapore, and you see for yourself how useful it is for secrecy."  
  
"It's amazing. Are there other places that you've marked like this on here?" she asked, thoroughly intrigued.  
  
"Do you think I'd really tell ye if there were?"  
  
"So there are..." she said and began blowing all across the map.  
  
"Hey! Hey!" Jack tried to roll up the map.  
  
"Jack, really, you can trust me." He looked at her questioningly. "Do I even have a ship that I could use to sail to these places?"  
  
"Aye, that's true." He rolled out the map again, and Emma continued making new discoveries.  
  
"This is fascinating, Jack. Have you actually been all of these places?"  
  
"Yes, as a matter of fact. I've been to all of the places you see that I've added to the original plottings on the map. Now, for our journey, we're going to make a quick stop at Port Royal to pick up a few useful things. I expect that Jess will take his crew to Tortuga."  
  
"Jack, I don't mean to question your plans, since you are much more experienced with sailing, but it looks like he's taking the shorter route."  
  
"Aye, he is, but not the smarter one. Tortuga is a pirate's home, and his crew will stay there overnight for sure, fulfilling their needs for drink and gambling and pleasurable company, and we'll be in Port Royal for merely a day at most. Besides, the Black Pearl is the fastest ship in the Caribbean. We also need to get something very important in Port Royal."  
  
"Why must we get it from Port Royal?"  
  
"First, Port Royal has an impeccable blacksmith, and second, Tortuga is no place for a lady." 


	10. The Letter

Chatper 10  
  
Emma sat avidly reading her book, she'd been in her room for hours, and only stopped when the sun started staring right at her through the window. It was then she figured she'd best get ready for dinner. She really thought Jack was...well, she wasn't quite sure what she thought he was. He was a pirate. Then again, he wasn't a pirate. It was more that being a pirate was Jack's occupation, and that otherwise, he was not a pirate; except for when he was pirate through and through. She stopped trying to think about it. There was one thing that was puzzling that she couldn't ignore however, and that was Jack's behavior toward her, he was utterly confusing. If it wasn't for the fact that Jack was a pirate, she would actually think that he was developing feelings for her. But being a pirate made him a dishonest man, and you can't trust a dishonest man to honestly have feelings for anyone but himself, at least no feelings greater than simple camaraderie.   
  
Emma went and found Anna Maria and asked her if she would mind assisting her in putting on one of her dresses. Unfortunately most of Emma's fine gowns now had to be worn with corsets.  
  
"Curse those English who made this blasted contraption fashionable! It's spread all over Europe and now even to the Caribbean!" Emma seethed as Anna Maria tied off the laces and then helped her pull the gown over her head. "Thank you Anna Maria." The woman laughed.  
  
"I'm so glad I'm a pirate."  
  
"If a corset is all I have to complain about, I think I'll do fine. I complain for the sake of complaining," she smiled. Anna Maria left her to finish getting ready. Emma fixed her hair and examined herself in the mirror. She needed something a little more, but she didn't know of anything. She decided to look in the drawers of the vanity anyway, and she was pleasantly surprised to find all of the things that had been in her own vanity at home. Jack had thought of everything. Well, she thought to herself, he is Captain Jack Sparrow. She laughed imagining Jack saying that himself. She'd set her father's journal down on the vanity and now picked it up, the letter falling onto her lap. She opened it with trembling hands. She took a deep breath and then began to read its contents.  
  
Dearest Emma,  
  
My darling daughter, there is so much to tell. The most important thing is that I love you more than anything in this world. I ache when I think of how you've grown up, losing your mother, your brother, and even me. There are no means to justify the way I've made us live our lives. The only thing I can do is explain my actions and pray that someday you may be able to understand, though I would never ask you to forgive my actions.  
  
The man I knew as a father lost everything. He was ruined by pirates. Just before he lost all his wealth, he was going to make me the captain of one of the merchant ships of his trade company. Even after his financial failure, he still insisted upon giving me the Destiny. I was determined from that moment to right the wrongs committed against my surrogate father and to restore to him his former estate. I engaged in a quest to destroy the pirates which had destroyed the lives of so many sailors and their families, to make some good come of what had happened. I only succeeded in destroying my own family.  
  
Through all that happened, all that I had set out to do, I found myself engaging in piracy. I had to learn their ways, having found many a pirate as an enemy. I had to be in the thick of their dealings to know what was going on so as to make sure of my family's safety. This also required that I never let anyone follow me to my home, so I could never risk the chance of being followed. The danger was too high a price to pay.  
  
I did once go foolishly to our home in England. I found your mother extremely ill, and that is when I wrote to your grandfather to come take care of you all. When I went back, to see if you grandfather had come yet, what I saw was more than I could bear. Our house had been burnt to the ground. I learned from our neighbors that, most fortunately, you and your brother had left days before the fire.  
  
I've kept in touch with your grandmother at the inn. No one would suspect anything of my frequenting an inn. She's told me all about the beautiful, intelligent young woman you've become. Don't begrudge your grandmother for never telling you, I made her promise not to. I could never face you after deserting you like I did, and the more time wore on, the harder it was to even think of facing you, my sweet little princess.  
  
I love you with all my heart! Words can't describe how proud I am. Remember that I truly do love you with all my heart. You are my treasure! Once you find your treasure, never let it go as I did. There is always more to everything than what lies at the surface.  
  
All my love,  
  
Father  
  
Emma went out on deck to breathe in the sea air and think about the letter. She stood gazing out across the seemingly endless ocean, and she softly sang the sailor's song from her childhood.  
  
In my heart there always lies  
  
A remembrance of your sweet eyes  
  
And I know that you're watching over me  
  
Even when I'm on the sea  
  
I've this feeling that we'll be  
  
Sharing dreams 'neath the same bright stars  
  
The deck was emptying and she could hear the pirate's bustle below deck, from the galley she suspected. She turned when she heard steps approach her where she stood at the helm.  
  
"You have a beautiful voice," Jack smiled, her heart melting at the look he gave her.  
  
"Thank you," she replied, looking to the ground a little self-conciously.  
  
He offered her his arm, "Shall we dine now?" 


	11. Dinner

Chapter 11   
  
The spread set out in the captain's private dining area was lavish and entirely more than the two of them could eat by themselves. Everything about the Pearl was extravagant, and surprisingly very clean for a pirate's ship. The two feasted, and Emma listened as Jack recounted for her a not entirely complete tale of his rescue of Elizabeth and of how he got the Pearl back from Barbossa and the rest.   
  
By not an entirely complete tale, Jack didn't exactly tell her about the fact that it was Will Turner, Port Royal's blacksmith, who was involved, which was extremely hard as almost the whole story centered on him and the fact that he was the son of Bootstrap Bill Turner. No, he didn't tell her that William Turner, her brother, twin what's more, was still alive. He didn't have the slightest idea of how to even begin to tell Emma about Will. He would have to wait until the opportune moment, until he thought of some way to actually do it. Besides, he said to himself, she's already been told so much today...  
  
He finished the story, to which Emma had been an excellent listener, reacting appropriately at all the right times. They ate the rest of their dinner, speaking casually. When they were finally finished, Emma sighed and said, "I can't believe how much food is still left here on the table!" Jack laughed at her random remark. "Honestly Jack, we need at least two more people to dine here with us!"  
  
Jack smiled and shrugged, "I'll take that into consideration, love."  
  
They went out on deck and gazed at the stars after the sun set. Emma told Jack all about her life back in New Derbyshire. She had, just as Jack predicted, lived the life of a debutant, well cultured, smart, elegant in all she said or did. She was also quite accomplished musically, and she even wrote and told stories. Jack asked her to tell him one of them, and she obliged.   
  
However, Emma noticed Jack seemed not to be listening after a while and stopped talking. She felt a little hurt that Jack would just ignore her. If he was bored, he could've made an excuse to leave or something, after all, he was a pirate, why should he try to stay here and be courteous?  
  
Jack had been looking at Emma out of the corner of his eye and noticed a hurt look come across her face and then she stopped talking. He knew, without even asking, what she was thinking. He smirked and said, "I was still listening to you. I don't think that you were finished with that story yet, as the knight just found out that the evil prince has kidnapped his bonny lass and plans to use her to get to the king's treasure."  
  
"I thought you weren't listening anymore."  
  
"I know, love. I'm sorry," he said, his smirk changing to his warm smile. "I was thinking about you in fact," he added. Emma's eyes widened. "I was thinking about how I would like to hold your hand again," he said, gently taking her hand in his. Emma looked down at their hands and smiled. "Now go on with your story love."  
  
Emma finished her story, or at least all that she had of her story, for it wasn't yet complete. The knight was only just preparing to face the evil prince in a duel. Emma stopped at this point, and Jack asked impatiently, "And? And then what?"  
  
"And then nothing," Emma shrugged.  
  
"What do you mean nothing?"  
  
"I haven't finished the story yet."  
  
"Oh. Well, ye be a fine storyteller, love."  
  
"Thank you, Jack."  
  
"You should finish it."  
  
"Aye, I'd thought about maybe doing so," she laughed.  
  
"After you've finished you can tell the crew in a few days, savvy?"  
  
"But I hardly know them!"  
  
"Just give it a couple of days, love; they're already rather fond of you. How could they not be? You're amazing." Emma's eyes widened for second, and Jack silently scolded himself wondering where that had come from. "I mean, most all of 'em were you're dad's former crew and so they already are fond of you because they respected him so much. Why else do you think they're willing to do this? Like you said earlier, we don't need the treasure."  
  
"You're a good man Jack, not like I imagined the infamous Jack Sparrow to be."  
  
"Captain, love it's Captain Jack Sparrow; and I 'm not nearly as good a man as your dad He was the best pirate I'd ever known, and an even better human being, treated everyone fairly and cared about their well- being and their feelings."  
  
A silent tear rolled down Emma's cheek and Jack wiped it away. "I'm sorry for bringing it up, love."  
  
"No, I'm glad you did, Jack. It's nice to hear about him, I don't remember a lot, and when I grew older he wasn't home as often as he was before." They stood in silence for a while.  
  
A cool breeze whipped across the ocean, and Emma shivered. Jack put an arm around her and she snuggled against him and rested her head against his shoulder. Having her this close was driving him insane. First, he didn't want to feel this way towards her. Second, he felt so inadequate. Emma was absolutely wonderful and perfect in every way, and as her grandmother had hinted to, probably had scores of suitors; he was only a pirate.  
  
"You know Jack, ever since the day of that pirate attack, when...when..." she broke off, unable to finish.  
  
"I know, go on, love." Jack took her hand again, facing her as she talked about this.  
  
"It's almost like I've had two completely separate lives; my life in England, and my life in the Caribbean. My life in England seems like some kind of, I don't know...it's like it's all something I made up, just one big dream. I miss my family, well, my mother and father and Will and my grandfather. It's so strange to know that my father is actually alive."  
  
"Do you know what's so wonderful about the Pearl? It's freedom. I feel so alive when I'm out here, on this ship. It's something that I can't really describe. I never knew my parents; my mother died in childbirth, and my father died of scarlet fever before I was born. I was raised in an orphanage in London. The only real kind of family I ever had was Bootstrap, he treated me like a son. The only place I've really felt at home was here on the ocean, it feels almost like I'd never really lived before, so I know what you mean, a little anyway."  
  
Emma yawned, covering her mouth. Jack laughed, "Still tired. I think it's time I take you to your room, savvy?" Jack placed her hand in the crook of his arm and led her to her quarters. He opened the door for her and was going to turn to and leave, but as he locked eyes with her, he was rooted to the spot.   
  
His heart started to beat faster, and he leaned toward her. Their eyes closed as their lips met, and he kissed her softly, his hand brushing her cheek. It was quick and sweet. Jack pulled back and Emma smiled and sighed contentedly. She then went into her cabin and closed the door, not saying a word.  
  
Jack laughed. "Goodnight love." He'd just kissed the daughter of Bootstrap Bill. 


	12. In the Night

Chapter 12  
  
"No! Where's Will? Grandfather!"   
  
Jack lay awake in his bed. He'd been having quite a good dream when he'd been awakened by the noises from Emma's room, which was on the other side of the wall. She's been tossing and Jack had debated whether or not to go wake her, but her cries cut through him and he bolted out of bed and into her cabin.  
  
Jack walked over to the large bed and gently shook Emma. She started and sat up, clinging to Jack as if trying to cling to life. She started crying into his shoulder and Jack stroked her hair with one hand while he wrapped his other arm around her.  
  
"You were dreaming about the day of the pirate attack again, weren't you?" he asked softly.  
  
"Yes," she sobbed bitterly into his shoulder.  
  
Jack kissed her forehead and hugged her a little tighter, "Hush now. I'm right here, savvy?"  
  
Emma finally calmed after a few minutes. "Jack," Emma pulled away from his shoulder to look at him.  
  
"Yes love?" he said, gently wiping away her tears.  
  
"Jack, will you...will you sit in here while I try to sleep. I've not dreamt about...about that day for at least seven years, and it was just so much more vivid than last night. I just don't feel like I can go back to sleep."  
  
"Of course, love. I'll just sit here on the bed next to you, savvy?" Jack walked around to the other side of the bed and then sat leaning against the headboard. He took Emma's hand in his as she lay back down and sighed. He gently stroked it as she began to talk softly.  
  
"I think it's because I'm back on a ship again that I've been having these dreams."  
  
"Is this the first time you've been on a ship since then?" Jack asked. Emma nodded and he laughed. "The daughter of Bootstrap Bill at sea only twice in her life! I think you'll feel at ease once we've been to Port Royal."  
  
They sat in silence. As soon as she'd fallen asleep, Jack went back to his cabin. He tried to sleep again, but couldn't. He punched the pillow brutally. He was going soft – no, he wasn't. What he'd just done, that was simply because Emma was Will's sister. The whole dinner affair, him holding her hand, the kiss, he'd simply gotten a little carried away. She was pretty, and her beauty was as intoxicating as his beloved rum was. He'd simply gone a little too far, but it didn't really mean anything. It couldn't have been any more than that.  
  
Jack wrestled within his head trying to explain his actions for the rest of the night, but even when the sun began to cast its light on him, he still had no more answers than he had before in the quiet darkness while the thoughts of Emma were filling his head, nothing else to push them out. He would simply keep things like that from happening again. 


	13. Corset

Chapter 13  
  
A few hours later Emma woke to someone moving around in her room. She sat up sleepily, yawned and then smiled a little when she saw Jack. She could only see the outline of his features because there was only the smallest hint of sunlight seeping through the window.  
  
"Jack, are you always going to be here when I wake up?"  
  
"I brought you some breakfast. We're almost to Port Royal, and you're coming ashore with me. Eat up and get dressed, love, we be goin' ashore soon after sunrise, savvy?"  
  
"But it's so early," Emma moaned.   
  
Jack laughed, "Yes indeed. Yer bloody brilliant, love, bloody brilliant."   
  
Jack left and Emma quickly ate the breakfast he'd brought. She washed her face in the basin and brushed her hair, then when walked over to the wardrobe and opened the doors. After quickly skimming what Jack had brought along for her in way of clothing she could easily see that all of these dresses were going to require that she wear a corset. Emma groaned, knowing that of course Jack couldn't have known about the dresses she had stashed under her bed to keep them from being thrown out when she got a new wardrobe each season. That was where most of her comfortable dresses were. She also realized that there was no way she would be able to do the laces of the corset herself. She sighed in exasperation, she was on what Jack claimed to be the embodiment of freedom, yet she couldn't even dress herself.  
  
There was a knock on the door. "Yes?" Emma called, looking at the door by way of the reflection in the mirror.  
  
"It's Anna Maria, Miss."  
  
"Come in!" Emma turned as the woman entered. "And please, Anna Maria, I do have a name," she smiled.  
  
"Aye, but you're a lady as well."  
  
"And the daughter of a pirate," she smiled, raising her eyebrows.  
  
"Do you have everything you need?"  
  
"Not quite, would you mind helping me with this wretched corset again?" Anna Maria laughed and helped Emma to lace up the bodice.   
  
"Once you're finished getting ready the captain wishes for your presence out on the deck, ready to land as soon as possible. He says to tell you that he is almost ready."  
  
"That's a lie!" Emma and Anna Maria both laughed.  
  
"Well, you may be willing to risk the captain's bad side, but I fear I'm not, I must go back out there and do my duties."  
  
"Heaven knows they need a woman out there to keep things running smoothly," Emma smiled. Anna Maria laughed and left her cabin. Emma fixed her hair up and out of her face and then lay down on the bed and reached for Robinson Crusoe. 


	14. Port Royal

Chapter 14  
  
Nigh three quarters of an hour later there was another knock on the door, more of a pounding really. "Who is it?" Emma called absentmindedly as she flipped the page of the novel, totally immersed in the story.  
  
"It's me," Jack's voice rang impatiently through the door. "Are you quite ready?"  
  
"Yes. Are you?" Emma giggled silently and placed her book down on the bedside table as she heard him reply very impatiently that they'd best be going immediately.  
  
"Jack, why is it necessary that I come ashore with you here at...where are we again?"  
  
"Port Royal," he said shortly, still upset that she had been sitting in her room simply reading for quite a while. It merely perturbed him because she had known exactly what she was doing, that he really wasn't ready until just a minute before he'd gone to her door himself. This lass was entirely too smart. He couldn't really think of anything to say as they rowed from the Pearl to shore. He tried not to look at her as the morning light streamed across her face.   
  
The silence was really getting to Emma and she became sleepy. The Pearl had let them overboard quite a way out from shore because Jack and his ship were wanted and being tracked down by the British Royal Navy, or at least His Majesty's Navy was trying to track them down. Emma tried to resituate herself to a more comfortable sleeping position, and before she could realize what was happening, the boat started to tip, she quickly sat up and tried to counter the weight, but she was fighting a losing battle as the boat tipped the other way with her.   
  
Jack stopped her from leaning back the other way again and held on to her shoulders firmly as the boat steadied itself with a laughing grin on his face. "Sorry," she said, smiling back at him sheepishly.  
  
"Don't fret about it love."  
  
They remained silent for a few more moments.  
  
"Jack, I'm bored."  
  
He laughed. "You amuse me Emma."  
  
Again, silence. Jack was trying to think of anything but Emma. From the moment three days ago when he'd met this beautiful creature, he hadn't been able to get her out of his mind. He'd hardly slept for she also haunted his dreams. And then when she spoke, her voice rang through his entire being. She was brilliant and interesting and funny. Then there was the fact that his crew also marveled at her beauty and her kindness. He felt for some reason like he had known her before, somewhere...or that he felt he knew himself better when he was in her presence, but it was a version of himself that he didn't know existed and he didn't comprehend it.  
  
What in blazes was he doing? Captain Jack Sparrow, reuniting families and going on a voyage to defeat the enemy of the Turner family...this was not what pirates did. But he did owe it to Will for saving him from the gallows, and he had to take his own vengeance on James McAndrews for killing Bootstrap. But what was his profit? What did he get out of it? This confusion that now plagued him. Curse her!  
  
"Jack, there's something you're not telling me," Emma interrupted his thoughts, he looked up surprised, hoping that she couldn't read his thoughts right now.  
  
"Aye love, there's much I'm not tellin' ye."  
  
"How did you become the captain of the Black Pearl the first time around, before they marooned you? You were only, how old did you say, sixteen?"  
  
"Fifteen. I was fifteen when I became the captain, but I was close to sixteen when they marooned me. Pirate crews pick a new captain from among themselves when their old captain dies or is marooned, and those scurvy dogs, excluding for your father, thought I'd be the best captain. I wasn't an excellent swordsman, but I seemed to be, and in addition to having the knowledge of where the Isle de Muerta's abundant gold was, they figured me to be a pushover. I was for a part; I was entirely too naïve and gave Barbossa the bearings when he told me that everything should be shared equally. After they got the information out of me, they marooned me. They knew that they were wrong in figuring that I was a pushover, thought that I was becoming too clever, and they could see that they wouldn't be able to control or manipulate me much longer."  
  
"And that was about ten years ago?"  
  
"Ten and a half almost to the day." They moored up on the shore and walked a through a bit of the tropical foliage of Port Royal and came out near a bridge. Emma could see the Navy's battlements from where they were.  
  
"Do you think you could have risked getting any closer to your hunters?" she asked.  
  
"The closer I am to them, the less the chance of them knowing where I am, love," he took her hand and led her through the bustling streets. The town was engrossed in its business and didn't even notice the two strangers mingle through them and then maneuver their way into a small alleyway that led to another, less crowded street. They went down about three steps to the next level of the town, passing a statue of a blacksmith. Jack smiled, remembering how he'd hid behind it, and moments later he'd met Will. Emma gasped and stopped. Jack turned around to look at her, still holding her hand, and saw her standing motionless, staring at the same statue on the side of their pathway. She brought her other hand up to her mouth, which was hanging open slightly. He stepped closer to her and saw that her eyes, which she couldn't tear away from the statue, were pricked with tears.   
  
She gave an involuntary shudder and Jack put his hand on her shoulder. She closed her eyes, then reopened them to look at Jack who had a look of perplexion and worry on his face.  
  
"Jack, the statue, this alleyway...it's...I've dreamed it all before, and I've never been here before this. From the dream."  
  
He squeezed her hand, "Have I ever given you reason not to trust me, love?" Emma took a deep breath and shook her head. He led her forward a few more paces and then opened a door to their left. 


End file.
